My heart melted. She’s lived at the shelter in Middletown, Connecticut for FOUR YEARS! Can you imagine? Bet you can’t. Now, this shelter sounds like a decent place. Mira has toys, a soft bed, a roof over her head and daily walks. She was nutritious food and staffers who want to pet her. But she doesn’t have what I think all pooches want and need – a human to call her own, and a forever home. Hoping that this column in the HuffPost will get her some attention and what she deserves.

I volunteered for a little over a year at the Oregon Humane Society and still do what I can to support the organization. I walked dogs. And my favorite dogs to walk, hands down, were the pit bulls and pit bull mixes. They were fun, they were playful, and they were eager to please and wanted cuddles so much. I love to share that with people because I believe the breed is misunderstood. And all too often, misidentified; I have seen people label a threatening dog a pit bull, even if it has no markings of the breed. In the news business, reporters are sometimes the worst offenders, taking the word of a witness and repeating it as gospel “yeah, it was a pit bull that attacked a ____ (fill in the blank). All that does is perpetuate the stereotype that these are dangerous animals. Pit bulls are no more or less dangerous than any other dog. Just recently, we reported a tragic story of a smaller dog, attacked and killed by a larger dog. The larger dog was reportedly a pit bull. Now maybe it actually was, I don’t know, I wasn’t the reporter on the story. But I always wonder when I hear it reported, if they got the breed correct. And yes, it does matter. It breaks my dog lovin’ heart to see pooches like Mira languishing in a shelter because potential adopters are afraid of her, simply because of her breed. Ok, climbing off my doggie soapbox now!

You Know You’ve Arrived When… you are being followed on twitter by your idols. I thought I would go over the moon when Jim and Patty started following me. If they sound familiar, its because they are the dynamic duo that became the Original Coffee People. Jim and Patty are still brewing it up, on Fremont and other spots around town (newly opened store in Northwest!), if you’re interested in stopping by. They make a killer milkshake too! But my latest head turning "oh-I-can’t-believe-he-knows-my-handle" is Dave Sims. If you are a Mariner fan like me, I don’t have to introduce you. If not, he’s the voice of the Mariners on Root Sports. All those Felix Hernandez tweets are paying off! Now, if I could just wear a hat as well as Dave can, then I’d REALLY be something!

Recycling Scarlett Letter – That’s what the folks in Seattle get when they don’t do composting, a red tag is stapled to their garbage cart. It lets everyone in the neighborhood know you are BAD! From a recent Atlantic Monthly article:

“If the city's waste management contractors encounter a house, apartment, or commercial property with garbage contains more than 10 percent recyclables or food, they tag the garbage bins with a bright red sticker. "I'm sure neighbors are going to see these on their other neighbors' cans," one contractor toldNPR earlier this week. "Right now, I'm tagging probably every fifth can."”

In July, those red tickets turn into fines. Now granted, the fine isn’t much. A buck for each household and up to fifty dollars for an apartment building, but it adds up. I think they are hoping public shaming does the trick. Maybe their food composting efforts make more sense than the city of Portland’s. I still can’t get over the fact they want you to throw meat scraps into your compost. (Those have never gone into ANY compost pile I’ve ever built!) I also can’t get the rest of my family excited about it. I can barely get them to recycle. If I have to argue one more time about what plastic can go into the bin, I will scream. So I am letting sleeping food scraps lie where they are….under the rest of my garbage. But woe be to us if the public shaming approach works in Seattle and Portland tries it. I’ll be the red ticket house for sure.

Ride For Your Life – New report out today that says even if you ride just a little bit, you are lengthening your life by a lot. Exercise has a stronger impact on living longer than maintaining a healthy weight. Now don’t get them wrong at Cambridge University. The researchers say losing weight is also very good for your health. But it appears even obese people who are active have a nearly 50-percent lower mortality rate than non-obese individuals who just sit around. So hop on that bike and ride!

Forgetabout Snowmageddon – What about the KALE! Apparently New Yorkers were totally freaked that they wouldn’t be able to get enough of their favorite fancy green when the

You can’t move the pot from state to state --- that’s still illegal. But there are now two states legally selling weed, and Oregon and Alaska are about to join their ranks. Forty to fifty billion in sales is predicted

Munchies … new for Thanksgiving, a company that’s giving you the chance to snack on crunchy turkey, dressing and cranberry chips! I dunno if I would like them or not, but I’m always curious when they come up with something like this, always willing to try wacky new flavors. Look for them in a store near you. Would you try them?

Cranksgiving … speaking of Thanksgiving, Cranksgiving is coming up this Sunday. It’s a treasure hunt and food drive, benefiting Outside Inn, and it sounds like a lot of fun. Show up at VeloCult at 1pm…that’s when things get rolling. http://puddlecycle.com/cranksgiving/

Sneezing-- Had the chance to take the Bolt Bus up to Seattle over the weekend. You can’t beat the price: round trip for forty three dollars for me. I can’t fill up the Secret Service SUV for that and get up there and back, even with gas prices coming down. I managed to get an exit row, so I had all the legroom I could possibly want and even managed to fall asleep on the trip home. Free wi fi, plug in’s…there’s even cup holders for each seat!

One thing that was disturbing though – the woman seated next to me, while pleasant enough, coughed and sneezed for the entire trip. Now I’m not saying that you should travel when you are sick, but ugh, it was unpleasant sitting next to that for three hours. If you have a cold, keep the coughing to yourself, if ya can, on your next bus, train or plane trip. I wasn’t entirely grossed out until today by her coughing though. That’s when a co-worker found a video of a guy sneezing in slow motion. Yikes.

But probably the worst part in the aftermath of “guy sneezing” was that I got sidetracked by all the videos of animals sneezing…dogs, cats. Over the weekend, someone actually posted a video of a chicken sneezing. I should get a prize for “most time wasted on videos”, if they offered such a thing.

Will it ever stop raining? I know we’re only a few weeks into fall, but I’m already a little whiney over the wet.

I had just started riding my bike back to work, and got spoiled with all the nice weather in September, when riding was a pleasure. At the hour I ride to work through, riding in the rain is iffy, in my opinion. It is when all the drinkers are just leaving the bar. I want to give them every opportunity to see me, and give me every opportunity to stop. Wet wheels make for slow stops. Looks like I might get to ride by Friday this week. Let’s hope for dry.

I was checking out the Oregon Bike calendar for upcoming events we could talk about on “Bicycle Built for Tuesday”, and while there were weekly rides, they had no big ones coming up. Shouldn't be a big surprise, because of the weather. I know there are people who ride year round, but I suspect I'm not the only one who doesn't really like riding in the rain, for whatever reason. What do you do to keep motivated to ride when the weather gets wet? Any suggestions appreciated!

Bacon Lovers – Found the BEST thing at my local Farmer’s Market in Montevilla, and I have to share. You know how much Tim Hohl and I love bacon, if you listen to First Edition. This is out of this world.. Bacon Jam!! Its from Mee Mee’s Goodies, she a local jam entrepreneur. The jam tastes like bacon in a jar. And its out of this world if you use it on Corn on the Cob. Check it out here: http://meemeesgoodies.com/best-corn-ever/

Bicycle Built for Tuesday – The Cycle Oregon wave has washed up in Tygh Valley, third stop on the tour this year. The 2014 edition brings a few firsts for the ride: for one, they’ve actually stuck a wheel in Washington. The second, the climbing…at 34-thousand feet, it’s the steepest ride to date. Good luck to all two thousand in the saddle this year.

Bike Me! – FINALLY rode my bike to work today, a major accomplishment. Its been at least a year, and maybe a year and a half since I could say that. Thelma (my new knee) and I made the 8 mile trip just fine. It took me a little longer than it used to, and I must confess, my bike jacket is MUCH snugger than it once was. Let’s see how things are at the end of the Bike Commute Challenge. I decided to do it this year, to get motivated and get over my fear of riding outside with my brand new knee. I’ve been on stationary bikes for months, and just started to venture out on the road. The fear is, I’ll fall off my bike, and screw up what took me more than six months to heal. Today, I faced up to being a little bit of a klutz, and took the plunge. If you’d like to join me, you can. Get some of the people you work with to join in too…it can be a lot of fun.

AM Ride Report – This was something I used to deliver regularly, when I was riding. Items spotted on my way to work at 3am, or otherwise out and kicking in the middle of the night. Things seem to have changed since I last rode to work. The streets I ride are a lot tidier. Congratulations S.E. Portland for cleaning up your act. Not much to decorate your home with out on the street – only one couch (which was being used as a sort of clothes line) a baby recliner, a speaker box with no stereo and an ironing board. Who irons these days anyway? As far as wildlife – only a tabby, meowing at me. Sheesh, things are real quiet!

Thanks, by the way, to Pokey Pedaling SP in Wisconsin for my bike report icon.... and you'd better believe I'm a pokey pedaler these days, but I get where I'm going

We Are NOT Number One – No longer is Portland first with two wheels. Bicycling Magazine is out with its annual Best 50 Bike Cities, and we’ve been demoted to number 2! Minneapolis squeezed us out. Maybe we had it coming, we were poised for a fall from grace (and our lofty bike seat!) Here's a quote from one of the many comments on the list: "Portland ain't nothing but a street in Minneapolis". Huh?! Enjoy Minneapolis -- we're coming for ya next year!

The Portland Century??The ride is this Saturday, with coming up on Saturday with three new routes and a new starting line. This year, cyclists will begin at University of Portland and for the first time all of the routes go into Clark County. Traditionally, the route for the Portland Century has traced backcountry roads in Multnomah county ...the very steep hills near Portland’s Bull Run Reservoir. This year, the ride will cross over the 205 bridge, going as far as Ridgefield and LaCenter before crossing back over into Oregon via the Interstate Bridge.

Can we still consider this the “Portland” Century? They bill it as “Portland’s signature ride”...and yet it looks more like the “Ride Around Clark County”.

The Winner! We told you a few weeks ago about the bike design competition, put on by Oregon Manifest -- and the winner is: the Seattle bike, “The Denny”. It was the bike I voted for! What’s not to love: features include a removable electric motor, tires with tiny bristles, a carbon fiber belt instead of a chain and removable handlebars that double as a bike lock

Fuji Bikes is expected to put a version of the Denny into production, though details won’t be clear until next spring.

The competition ran for seven month, pairing up design firms and bike-makers in five cities: Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Bye Bye Bike and Hike -- One of metro area’s long established and largest bike shops has closed its PORTLAND store. Bike and Hike will continue to operate stores in Milwaukie, Beaverton & Hillsboro.

Declining sales could no longer support the 75-hundred square foot space on southeast Grand at Oak. Bike AND Hike’s owner says he’s working to find his Portland employees jobs at his other stores.

Not up for a Century? “BIKE MILWAUKIE” is sponsoring a tour of Milwaukie’s parks as part of its monthly ride series. The 10 mile ride starts and finishes at Milwaukie City Hall, making a counter clockwise loop through the city.

Do You Want To Build a Spider Gun? Sung to the tune of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman", this instructional video answers the question, how can I get rid of that scary creature hiding in my bathroom without killing it! Believe it or not, putting a spider gun together is quite involved!

Happy Hunting!

Keeping Your Bike Safe -- Ifyou'd like to make your bike less vulnerable to thieves, there is a way to do it. Register it with Bike Index https://bikeindex.org/. Many bike shops do it for you now when you buy it, but if you've had your bike for a number of years (like I have) its nice to have the same protection. You will need to know your bike's serial number to register it properly. You can also upload photos to go with it. Its also a good site to check if you are buying a used bike, to make sure you aren't buying something that's been stolen. And cops can check it too, when they confiscate a bike, to see if it belongs to someone.